The conversation is starting to shift around the Los Angeles Lakers. Now that it seems to have become clear that the Lakers will not be making a trade for a star wing, the focus has turned to how head coach JJ Redick will decide the starting lineup.
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha, there are four players who can be penciled in as Day 1 starters. (Hint: they are actually not all White guys!)
“I believe there are four starting locks: Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler and Quentin Grimes,” Buha said during a recent episode of his podcast.
That leaves room for one more player. Who that fifth starter will be will be determined as training camp and preseason progress, as both coach Redick and general manager Rob Pelinka alluded to Thursday during their 40-minute season-opening press conference.
Lakers Want Their Young Buck to Emerge as a Starter
What are the Lakers looking for out of that fifth starter?
“I think they need someone who can defend multiple positions,” Buha expressed, “including some of the bigger wings and forwards, someone who can complement Luka and Walker Kessler on the defensive glass … I could make a case for as many as six players: Jake LaRavia, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt, Adou Thiero and Matisse Thybulle.”
While the Lakers have plentiful options — not a bad problem to have, huh? — Buha revealed that the team hopes young rising star Adou Thiero makes a strong case.
“I think the Lakers would love if Thiero ends up winning this competition, but to me, he is still a little too raw offensively,” Buha said.
It is true that Thiero is very early in his development. Fans love watching him use those spring-loaded legs in transition and dream about his sky-high defensive upside, but it could take a while before Thiero is ready to register major minutes. Plus, it is easy to forget that this season is, in some ways, Thiero’s first. He struggled to stay available last season after missing training camp and preseason.
Redick Already Raving About Thiero
There were many takeaways from Redick and Pelinka’s media session this week, but one point that particularly caught a lot of fans’ attention was what Redick had to say about Thiero.
“Adou has had an unbelievable last two months of development,” Redick told reporters Thursday. “It’s the first stretch he’s had since we drafted him where he’s had uninterrupted time in the gym. His body has been in great shape and he’s just gotten better.”
If Thiero has genuinely taken an enormous leap this offseason, he very much has an opportunity to claw his way into the main rotation, which is projected to run about 10 deep.
As for those among Lakers Nation dreaming of the day Thiero gets thrust into the starting lineup, that could be a possibility in the near future, but for now, there are others who have a much higher chance of earning the starting power forward job.
“Ziaire Williams undeniably has the higher ceiling as someone who has grown a high-volume 3-point shooter,” Buha said, “and I think you can make a strong case for him, especially with the recent news that he bulked up to 215 pounds.”
Williams is another player Lakers fans have high hopes for, and he is relatively young himself. The 25-year-old possesses that two-way profile that could make the team’s frontline more formidable.
And who knows, if all goes well, maybe two or three years down the line we’ll see the Lakers roll out Thiero and Williams as their two starting forwards.
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